Best Actress
Nominees:
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Again, the list had no shockers. Among the candidates are two Oscar veterans (Mirren and Streep), two newcomers (Mulligan, a Brit beguiler in her first starring movie role, and Sidibe, who had never gone for so much as an audition before testing for Precious) and the wild card: Bullock, who matches Jeff Bridges for likability but has never been nominated for an Oscar before. Will she demote Streep to bridesmaid status again? The Greatest Living Movie Actress won two Oscars (for Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice) by the time she was 34. Now she's 60, and has been nominated 11 more times without winning. Bullock's popularity in a surprise-hit weepie could make it an even dozen.